Nissan has confirmed that its EV battery making division, Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC), is to be sold, with a definitive sale and purchase agreement decided upon with Chinese investment firm GSR Capital.

The sale includes Nissan’s battery production facilities in the US and UK as well as Nissan’s development and production site located in Japan.

No financial details of the sale have been provided yet, and the sale still requires regulatory approval, a process that’s expected to be completed by December 2017.

The deal means that lithium-ion battery supply for the next generation Nissan Leaf EV will shift from an internal source to a supplier agreement, but details of that agreement are likely to be included in the sale contract.

GSR capital is also believed to offer supply contracts to other automakers in time, utilising the technology if not the physical batteries, inherited as part of the deal.

AESC is a result of a joint venture between Nissan and electronics firm NEC, before the deal goes ahead Nissan will assume full control of the joint venture from NEC, before selling the division onto GSR Capital.